


The Lion and his Moon

by Andwee



Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies), The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: A lot of things differ from the movies, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Dangerous Mermaids, Everyone gets captured in Mirkwood, F/M, Falling In Love, Fili falls in love with her anyways, Half-mermaid OFC, Kili doesnt get injured so none stay back when heading to Erebor, Mermaid Magic, New member of the company OFC, No orcs chasing them right after they escape, Not Beta Read, One-Shot, The rating might change because i intend to write a smutty sequel, We Die Like Men, Well maybe more like two-shot but if you dont like smut, including bilbo, lowkey scary looking OFC, you can just not read the second chapter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-22
Updated: 2020-11-22
Packaged: 2021-03-10 00:40:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,938
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27674825
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Andwee/pseuds/Andwee
Summary: After Bilbo rescues her from the goblins and brings her along on the quest to get back Erebor, Serina, a young half mermaid, reveals to the other that she has the power of the Siren Call.This greatly scares the other members and so she must show them that it is no more than a little trance spell, and not some mind-control ability she has. Of course, who else could be a better subject to test this than the handsome crown prince and nephew to the king of Erebor, Fíli.However, things take a serious turn when she starts to believe that perhaps her powers are more than what she had thought them to be when the prince starts acting... differently around her.Could she have accidentally cursed Fíli Durin to fall in love with her?
Relationships: Fíli (Tolkien)/Original Female Character(s), Kíli (Tolkien)/Tauriel (Hobbit Movies)
Kudos: 9





	The Lion and his Moon

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, Lovelies!  
> This fanfic is basically just one of the scenarios that I've been obsessed with ever since I first imagined it and it was inspired by the mermaid song from pirates of the Caribbean! I hope you will enjoy reading it just as much as I've enjoyed writing it!
> 
> Also, readers of A Destiny to Change, do not worry! I have not abandoned it. I have been very overwhelmed these days with uni so I decided to write it more slowly. This one-shot is more like a pet project that i wrote in the middle of the night because my mentally ill brain has been obsessed with it. An update will come, my friends, I promise!

It had been a few months now that Serïna had been on the quest with the company. She’d been freed from the goblins that had captured her from her home by Bilbo, their hobbit burglar, as he was trying to sneak to the other members. Of course, it had taken her a bit of begging to get him to not leave her in her cage, but eventually, he gave in, listening to his conscience and striking at the bones that formed her cell.

Unfortunately, the clanking of the sword drew the attention of a nearby guard, who promptly tried to charge at them, only for the three of them to end up at the bottom of the ravine together. 

After they’d escaped Gollum and the mountain, introductions to the company had been awkward to say the least. After all, Serïna was a rather rare and unpleasant sight, as she had often been told. She was a half mermaid and, despite her mostly human appearance, she still retained some odd qualities from her mermaid mother, like the blue-grey hues in her skin, ears that were shaped like fins and that dusted to a deep blue towards the end, eyes that could turn pitch black for night vision and rather sharp teeth. You see, mermaids are predators, they are meant to kill, and so they look like they could kill you. Unfortunately, since Serïna was bound to land by the human half that prevented her from developing full gills and a tail, it meant that she was often mistaken for predators like orcs.

Obviously, when one looks like a mix between an orc and a human in front of a king like Thorin who has a personal vendetta against orcs, it can be awkward to introduce yourself and pledge your allegiance to his cause on the basis that you wish to repay the hobbit who saved you by aiding his quest. In fact, she had been lucky to even survive her first encounter with the dwarf, despite her explanation that she was in fact half mermaid and not half-orc. He had drawn his sword at her, and almost called her a liar since he’d never heard of such a thing as mermaids. Thankfully, Ori had been quick to chime in with his knowledge on the existence of mermaids, which seemed to appease the king under the mountain. Serïna had been very grateful for that.

And so, ever since then, she’d been following the company around, joining them on their quest to reclaim a stolen homeland. She’d grown quite close to the youngest dwarrows of the company like Kíli, Fíli, and Ori, who were fun to be around and closer to her age in proportion to their lifespans. The young red-headed dwarf had been very inquisitive about her and her kind, but she’d had to disappoint him as she knew nothing of mermaids beyond what she knew of herself. She’d only ever been raised by her father, a human until she reached the age of three when he sold her for 15 golden coins as a “rare oddity of nature”. A rather fitting price for such an ungodly but unique creature as her, she laughed as she told them. But none laughed with her. Damn her and her terrible sense of tact. 

They’d been doing well, all of them together. Although she stuck out like a sore thumb from the group, she was finding comfort in the niceties of Bilbo, in the silliness of Kíli, in the curiosity of Ori, and in the warmth of Fíli.

Oh and how she loved his warmth

Yes, she might’ve caught herself feeling a bit more emotionally inclined towards the heir of Durin, Fíli. The blond dwarf was kind, gentle, fierce, and simply gorgeous! He reminded her of a young lion, so majestic and brave in nature. Of course, she was bound to feel a bit enamored with him.

However, she knew this feeling of hers would never amount to anything. And she was fine with it… truly. She was no fool, she knew of what dwarrows considered attractive and what they did not, and she was rather confident in the idea that she did not make the cut for that first category. She wasn’t vexed by it either because she was used to not fit into beauty standards of any race besides maybe that of orcs or goblins if they were to have such standards. Even at that, she would still be too soft looking for those too, in the event that they should exist. She was bound to be simply a creature that people looked at in awe and sometimes even horror when she smiled with her teeth showing.

And attractiveness was beside the point! The heir to the throne of Erebor deserved the finest and such a thing was certainly not a half-breed, an unsightly match between two worlds that never should’ve collapsed together.

Still, she could not help the loud thrumming in her chest whenever the prince was near. He was just… out of this world.

“Aren’t you cold, standing so far from the fire?”, he’d asked her one night.

Serïna had simply smiled and had shaken her head, “No, your highness, I’m fine.” She looked into the distance of the night, her pupils dilating slowly to fill the whites of her eyes as she adjusted to the darkness. “I am used to the cold, as my kind tends to be. Besides, it is easier to keep on the lookout from this place.”

She was watching out for any potential threat, standing at the edge of the cliff they’d chosen as their resting spot for the night.

“Um, that is true, I suppose. Still, you should not force yourself to be cold simply because you are used to it”, he said before she heard a rumbling sound from his direction. Before she knew it, she felt a thick fur enveloping her. She looked back at him, trying to protest and give him back his furs before she noticed him staring deep into her eyes.

“Wow, I know you told us they could do that, but I’d never seen your eyes turn black from so close,” he stated, still bewildered.

“Oh, my apologies, your highness,” she said quickly, forcing her irises to go back to their natural state.

“Oh, sorry, no! I didn't mean it as a bad thing… they’re simply fascinating, just like the rest of you…” he said, almost in a whisper at the end. He seemed to catch himself and said, “Serïna, please, you must call me Fíli! My title is not one I’ve earned just yet. I will not be royalty in my mind’s eye until Erebor.”

She chuckled at that. The dwarf did not seem to understand that royalty was not something one earned, but rather something one was born as. But she decided not to correct him on it, as his words reflected his true and fair nature.

The peaceful moments did not last, even after the reached Mirkwood because, although the threat of Orcs was reduced in the thickness, they still struggled to find their way through the forest, and, after a quick brush with death at the hands (or legs) of gigantic spiders, the company, dwarves, hobbits and half-breeds alike, had been captured by the elves. Prince Legolas was the first to address them upon their capture.

“ Now that is quite the unexpected surprise… Thorin Oakenshield in the company of twelves dwarves, a hobbit and,” he hesitated as his gaze stopped on Serïna, “ whatever that thing may be.”

Rude. A rather low blow, but she could take it. She simply twisted her face into a slight frown and answered flatly, “And here I thought one could expect the Prince of Mirkwood to know how to properly address a lady.”

The elf seemed taken aback by the statement but ultimately let it slide before guiding his prisoners back to his father’s castle.

Now, no matter how much she found elves to be a bit arrogant, to say the least, she could admire them for their impeccable taste in architecture. The castle was simply divine, in harmony with nature in a way she’d only ever seen in the Shire. It was like the tree had grown naturally to become rooms, stairs, and all that surrounded them, and Serïna could not help but love it. Ever since she’d escaped her owners at the age of 15, the only thing she’d ever dreamed of was a beautiful home surrounded by nature where she could live in peace, unbothered by others. However, that plan had gone a bit to shit when she’d been taken by the goblins and when she’d joined the quest. 

Without even so much as an audience with the king, they were all brought to their tiny cells, which were unfortunately much more solid than goblin cages. Thorin was then dragged away, only to return a while later, declaring in his language what she could only assume mean that he’d told the elf king to go fuck himself when said elf had offered a trade to let him go.

That night, in the dungeon, while most of the others slept, she watched incredulously the odd scene that appeared before her eyes. A beautiful red-headed elf lady was chatting away with the youngest prince, Kíli. Even weirder was the fact that there seemed to be a chemistry of sorts between them. She wasn’t really surprised that Kíli would find the elf to his taste, as she’d heard some teasing comments about his leniency towards elves coming from the others on their trip, but she was quite surprised to see that it seemed like the she-elf could be attracted to him in a similar fashion.

When eventually the guards were switched, the pretty elf went up the stairs to meet another elf who would take the next shift of prisoner watch. A jangling noise caught the attention of Serïna and she noticed that the new elf was being given a set of keys.

The keys to our cells. The guards have the keys to our cells on them, she thought.

Then, what felt like mental lightning struck her. If she could bring the new guard close enough for her to snatch the keys, she could use them to free herself and the others… oh but she would also need to incapacitate the guard before he could notice what she was doing… inside her cell, how could she even manage-

Oh

An even better idea came to mind, although she could not know if it would work. As many know, mermaids are a very special kind of predator. They were unique because they did not hunt for their prey. No, no, no, they did not hunt but rather they lured. 

And so, a mermaid’s song was meant to lure men to them, draw them in until the lady could simply snatch them up and drag them into the unforgiving waters for them to eat. Knowing that it was no wonder why mermaid halfbreeds were a rarity because it was the same concept as a rabbit and fox halfbreed. Clearly, someone had not been obeying the laws of nature. 

However, in that moment, Serïna blessed her odd match of parents because this meant she could get out of this cell, just as she had done with the humans. She could sing to the guard and get the keys from him while he was in a trance. 

Her only worry was the possibility that elves would not be affected by her song like the men were. After all, it hadn’t worked with the goblins. But she remained optimistic with the idea that the guard was male and therefore more likely to be susceptible to her voice.

And so she took that chance. She waited until he was passing in front of her cell and called out for him to look at her. She began.

Upon one summer’s morning

I carefully did stray

Down by the walls of Wapping

I met a sailor gay

The elf completely turned his body towards her and his eyes turned glossy as he looked into hers. It was working. She lifted her arms out the cell, her hands open towards him as if to call him to her.

Conversing with a young lass

Who seemed to be in pain

Saying, William, when you go I fear

You’ll never return again

The guard had approached her, slowly letting his face be cupped by Serïna. Her hands laid a soft hold on his face, forcing him to maintain eye contact. His face drew close to her and she could see her reflection in his green eyes. 

My heart is pierced by Cupid 

I disdain all glittering gold

There is nothing can console me

Like my jolly sailor bold

Once his head was fully within her hold, she stopped singing and forcefully knocked his head against the iron bars of her prison, taking him out instantly. The guard hit the floor rather hard, unconscious, and quickly, she grabbed the keys from his hands. She began working each of the keys into her lock until one finally snapped it open, and then she proceeded to move on to the others’ cells, waking up those who were still asleep in there.

Fíli looked at her, clearly having been awake throughout the whole ordeal, and remained oddly silent. After all were free, they headed for their freedom through the barrels they would find down in the lower parts of the castle.

~

After they’d escaped into the night, the group found a small cavern nearby where they decided to rest after making sure that it was empty and that it was not the entrance to goblin kingdom again. All the members promptly fell asleep, only to awaken the next morning when the sun was already a quarter of the way into the sky. They’d had a rough night so it had been forgivable. 

In the morning, when Bombur was cooking breakfast that they’d caught over a small fire, Serïna felt uneasy. The company was promptly staring at her in the most obnoxious of ways without saying a word. She knew what was on their minds… they knew what she’d done. Thorin was the first to speak

“Halfbreed, would you mind telling us exactly how you managed to knock out that elf guard and get the keys?”

“Well… you see, it’s rather simple. I didn’t even think it would work on him because he wasn’t a man but thankfully it did work! I used a mermaid song!”, she answered as simply as she could.

“ What do you mean, you used a song to distract a guard?”, the king further demanded.

“That’s the whole mermaid thing… My kind just have this method to lure in prey, or in this case, to save your royal ass!”

Bofur started, “But it sounded so… unreal.”

“It’s true, I’ve never heard singing like that! How could singing have such an effect on someone?” Kíli inquired, “ it was just so enchanting, even I felt drawn in. You felt it too, right Fíli?” He jabbed his brother in the ribs at the last sentence, but all he got was a stern nod from Fíli who seemed resigned to look at the ground.

“Oh, I’ve read about it before! It’s actually dubbed a siren call! Mermaids will use it to put males at sea in a trance so that they join them in the water. Men in the coastal regions are known to disappear with mermaids, only for their half-eaten corpses to wash ashore a few days later. Fierce predators they are, mermaids!” Ori chimed in, almost too happy to be able to share his extensive knowledge. 

Serïna flinched at the statement. She knew she was a monster, but she did not want the others to be so very aware of it… 

“But this siren call thing… how can we be sure you won’t use it against us and make us do whatever you want! You could easily bewitch one of us to fall in love with you and make us do your bidding!” Thorin snarled.

“ Oh no! That’s not how that works at all. The siren call doesn’t make you fall in love with me! Well, I’m not sure about what it does for mermaids, since I’m only half-mermaid, but so far, from the few times I’ve used it to get out of bad situations, it only seems to put the person in a trance for as long as I sing, not a second more!”, she said quickly, trying to appease the dwarf’s worry. “I can show you if you’d like! That way you’ll see it doesn’t work like that.”

She looked around the faces of the group for a willing volunteer, but none seemed too keen to get hypnotized. It was reasonable but she only wanted to do this so that they would doubt her in the future. Serïna wasn't stupid and she knew that once they got into the mountain, a stranger to the company, especially one who might be suspected of having mind control abilities, would be the first to be in danger. 

Still, none dared to offer themselves and the silence grew heavy until it looked like Bilbo was going to speak up, only to be interrupted by the golden prince.

“You can do it on me if you’d like,” he started carefully, finally looking up at her with those precious blue eyes, “ I trust you enough to know you wouldn’t do anything bad to me, so, please, use me to show us your power.” At that, she smiled and practically preened on the inside. He trusted her. That really warmed her heart.

“Well, then, I shall show you guys then,” she said as she got up to go sit next to him, “ Now, Fíli, I’m going to need you to look at me in the eyes, okay?”

The prince simply nodded, turning to face her and looking deep into her eyes as she’d ordered. 

“Hold on, how can we be sure this won’t affect any other of us?” Thorin asked, suspicious.

“Once again, your highness, it doesn’t work like that,” Serina stated, breaking eye contact with the prince to look at Thorin, “I’m only halfbreed, which means I don’t get a full-fledged siren call, I can only do it when I’m focusing on one person. I know for a fact it doesn’t work if I don’t choose a target.”

The king under the mountain grunted as a response, clearly still wary of her but choosing not to argue any further. The halfbreed turned her attention back to Fíli, who was still only staring at her. She focused her gaze on his and began singing.

His hair it hangs in ringlets

His eyes as black as coal

My happiness attend him

Wherever he may go

The effect was instant. The prince’s eyes glossed over and his expression relaxed immediately, leaving his mouth slightly agape.

From Towerhill to Blackwall

I’ll wander, weep and moan

All for my jolly sailor

Until he sails home

Fíli’s lax face seemed to draw nearer at each word she sang, but wanting to spare him the humiliation of doing something he might not want, she cupped his face so that his face would get too close to hers. It was slightly intoxicating for Serïna to be touching the prince like this. His beard felt coarse yet tingly as her slender fingers threaded through it.

My heart is pierced by Cupid

I disdain all glittering gold

There is nothing can console me 

But my jolly sailor bold

Thank Valar for her firm hands on his cheeks, because otherwise their faces, their lips would have clearly touched. She blushed a bit at the thought as she stopped her song. The prince slowly came back to his sense, his eyes no longer fogged up, and once again, she could see those beautiful, warm blue eyes looking up at her. She realized that she was still holding his face and immediately let go of it, feeling both relief and regret as the contact stopped. She lowered her gaze in an attempt to escape his gaze and hide her flushed face.

“See now, it was only temporary, the prince is back to normal,” she spoke quickly before getting up and sitting back in her original spot around the fire.

“That is truly something else, I tell ya,” Dwalin said, breaking the sort of silence spell the others had been under while watching her. They now began to chatter away, talking about what they’d just witnessed. Kíli clapped his hand onto his brother’s shoulder and let out a cheeky laugh as he spoke.

“ Now that you’ve finally felt the touch of a woman, I reckon that makes you a proper dwarrow, brother!”

Fíli spit out the sip of water he’d had in his mouth and pushed his brother off with an embarrassed look in his eyes. Still, he did not speak and simply contented himself with turning his gaze back to Serïna, as subtly as he could.

~

When it was time to approach the man in the boat to get entry into Laketown, Serïna did her best to her most damning features. Of course, she could not hide her odd, almost cadaver-like skin tone, but she did manage to hide ears in her black hair and she refrained from speaking so as to hide her teeth. 

Then, there had been the whole ordeal of trying to hide from the master of the town, being found out, and eventually striking a deal with the town’s people to share the treasure of Erebor with them. Although so much was happening, she kept on getting distracted by the silent stares of the crown prince. He looked at her with wide eyes for a good part of the whole day, but he also looked away as soon as she turned around to confront his gaze. 

Why did he stare at her like that? Was he so off-put by her powers? Yes, she was odd, but he knew that already, so why would it bother him no-

Ohhhh… maybe now he was scared of her. It was totally possible. After all, before, she was only an odd-looking creature to him, but now she was an odd-looking creature who could turn him to goo as she pleases. Of course, it could be scary! But she wouldn’t do this to her friends, not to him! She would need to talk to him, to reassure him that she was not a monster and that she would never abuse her abilities in that way.

And so, during the feast that the people of Laketown had organized for the company, Serïna grabbed the golden prince by the wrist and gently tugged at him to follow her.

“ Fíli, I must ask you something important,” she spoke softly.

Fíli audibly gulped with an expectant look on his face, “Y-yes, of course, ask away…”

“Do you fear me?” She asked, trying to make herself look as non-threatening as possible.

“What?”, the prince said, looking rather taken aback by the question.

“Do you fear me, Fíli?” The halfbreed began, “Are you scared of me now that you know what I can do? You know, I would never use that power against you or any members of the company. I could never do that to you guys, you’re my friends!”

The prince’s brows were knitted together in confusion. “No, of course not. I don’t fear you at all, Serïna, and I know you would never do anything to harm us! Why would you think that?”

The girl relaxed and stated, “Oh, well, it’s just you’ve been acting a bit off around me today… I noticed you stared a lot at me and I was afraid you’d become weary of me for what I’d done to you…”

The prince simply flushed at this. He began to speak with slight hesitation. “Oh… you noticed that. I didn’t mean to be rude or to make you uncomfortable. I just have been rather distracted recently, lost in thought if you will.” He looked like he was hoping for her to believe him, despite his vague answer. She decided not to push the matter since all that mattered to her was that he did not fear her.

They then headed back to the party where they both enjoyed some ale together and laughed as they had always done on the trip. They also liked to poke fun at Kíli who was in attendance with a certain pretty elf, clearly trying his best to woo her. It was adorable, really.

~ 

The dragon was finally gone.

Slain.

From Erebor, the entire company watched as the dragon fell onto the town. The screams could be heard all the way from the mountain and resonated in Serïna’s skull. 

People were dead because of them, because of their quest. The dragon would not have attacked those people if they’d not woken it from its slumber.

She felt sick, so very sick, and yet, Thorin started to insist that his company should start looking for the Arkenstone within the mountain.

As she was about to follow them down the stairs to the piles of gold, a firm hand stopped her. She turned her head to Thorin, the dwarf who’d stopped her in her tracks

“Not you. You will stay out of the treasury. I cannot trust outsiders, especially one with your abilities with my gold,” his tone was harsh and cold.

She was about to retort something about being part of this and wanting to help but she remembered what Balin had warned the members about. 

Gold sickness

A most concerning affliction that ran in the blood of the Durin’s and that would make them greedy being repair. She knew that there was no point reasoning with a sick king, and so she decided to simply obey his orders. She instead decided to roam the halls of the mountain, exploring all of the dusty and spider-web filled rooms she could find. She hoped though that she would not stumble upon any corpses during her exploration. The ones she’d seen while they fled the dragon simply broke her heart beyond measure. She began to wonder if she should ask the king permission to perhaps go bury the dead they’d found while the others searched the gold. For all it was, it did not sit right with her to see corpses that had not been given proper burial. It felt wrong and made her insides churn, as though she was cursing those pour would herself by not giving them their due. 

A few hours went by as she thought of a proper place to put the bodies to rest when she was interrupted by someone calling out her name from the end of the hall. 

Fíli

He was catching up to her and stopped in his tracks as soon as he joined her. He was holding something in his hands

“Sorry, I could not join you earlier. Uncle has been rather insistent on searching for the Arkenstone,” he spoke, a bit out of breath.

“It is no worry, Fíli. I understand why I could not help. You need not fret, I’m fine busying myself,” the halfbreed answered.

Once again, his brows furrowed and he looked up at her with a serious and incomprehensible expression. “I see. Well still, it is not right in my mind’s eye that you are out here by yourself, so I snuck away to be in your company,” a soft smile drew itself upon the face of the crown prince as he spoke. A warm feeling she’d known before washed over Serïna. 

The prince wanted to be in her company. How very sweet of him. The dwarf would truly make a wonderful husband someday. 

A wonderful husband for someone else, she reminded herself grimly.

As if he’d felt her mood sour, he spoke again to cheer her up. “Oh, and I have something for you, Serïna. It is not much but I hope you will like it!”

He opened his hand to reveal a beautiful silver bead with sapphires embedded in it. A magnificent thing, truly. 

“I saw it in the treasure room and it reminded me of you… would you allow me to braid it into your hair?” The crown prince asked with his royal blue eyes staring deep into her brown-bordering-on-black eyes. 

Valar, this dwarf was truly making it hard not to fall for him.

Serïna gently nodded with a smile, bringing him to a room she knew had chairs for them to sit down. Once she was settled down on her chair, the girl felt Fíli large hands smoothly comb through her jet-black hair to finally settle his grasp upon a strip of it that would hold the bead. His hands felt so good and the touch was so very intimate that she unconsciously let out a soft sigh that seemed to temporarily stop Fíli’s hands before he resumed his ministration. 

Once he was done, the prince sat down in front of her and looked at her with satisfaction. “It’s perfect,” he whispered. Serïna could not help but feel her cheeks warms up at the statement. She whispered a soft thank you back to him before they began roaming the halls together again.

~

After that, Fíli continued to bring her little trinkets from the treasure hold, insisting that he wanted her to have them, especially after she’d saved him during the great battle.

Indeed, she’d joined the king as he ascended to go defeat Azog. She had brought with her a bow, the weapon she had the most experience with and, when she saw the pale orc standing on the tower, about to impale the crown prince, she was very glad of her choice of weapon. 

Before his blade had been able to strike, she’d shot Azog in the calf, making him drop the dwarf from the tower. Immediately, she runs to his side and carried him away from the battle to tend to him while Kíli fought off anything that stood in her way.

Eventually, once the battle had been over, she’d brought him to the healers’ tents to get him looked at. He’d been lucky to only have broken his left leg due to the fall.

And so, Serïna had figured that the trinkets were the prince’s way of showing gratitude for the numerous times she’d saved his and the others’ lives. However, she came to doubt that belief when, a week after the battle, Ori came to her and said, “You have a bead in your hair!”

“A very keen eye you’ve got there, Ori,” she answered sarcastically with a chuckle.

“Where did you get it?”, the small dwarf inquired.

“It was given to me by Prince Fíli! He’s been giving me an awful lot of gifts lately, to be honest… I think he feels he has to repay me somehow for saving his life.”

“Still… a braid bead is an odd present to give for gratitude. Do you know much about Dwarven culture?” Ori said with a pensive look.

“Not really, if I’m being honest”, she answered sheepishly. She felt a bit self-conscious that she’d not bothered to ask more about their traditions the whole time she’d been with them.

“Well, you see, a braid bead is not a common gift. Usually, it is only given on special occasions like coming of age, or a first victorious battle by family members,” Ori explained and he grabbed one of his braids, “This one was given to me by my mother when I came of age.”

“But I’ve been of age for while now, and I hadn’t even fought in a battle when he’d given it to me. And I’m not a family member either!”, Serïna exclaimed incredulously, “Why would he have given me a bead then?”

“Actually, there’s another instance in which we dwarrows give beads… it is when… well I’m not sure if I should be the one telling you this but… we give beads to someone we fancy when we want to marry them.”

“Excuse me, did you just say ‘marry’?!” She choked out. Ori simply nodded. She couldn’t breathe. She had to leave. She excused herself from the dwarf’s company and ran to one of the balconies of the west wing to get some air.

We give beads to someone we fancy when we want to marry them. Surely, Fíli could not have meant it like that. But then again why would he give her such a gift if it had that implication in his culture!

Her head was swirling and ended up sitting down against the small columns of the balcony. She couldn’t wrap her head around this confusing situation

And then it hit her. 

Maybe, just maybe, this was a side effect of the siren call. 

It would make a lot of sense. She did not know much about the siren call and its long-term effects had not been really studied. She’d never stuck around long enough around someone she’d used it on to know what it did in the long run and no human has ever been able to testify on the long-lasting effects of mermaids because they usually get eaten once they get enchanted by them. 

What a cruel twist of fate, for her to accidentally bewitch the dwarf she loved into loving her back. She did not want that. If she were to have him… she wanted him to want her because he actually loved her, not because of some magic spell. 

She had no choice, she had to confront the prince with her findings. She had to see if she could reason with him or if he was too far gone to understand his condition so that they could devise a plan to cure him

Yes, that way he wouldn’t be stuck under the spell of the horrid creature she was. He could marry a dwarrowdam worthy of him and who would suit him. Truly, she could not be with him. What a mismatched pair they would make…

~

That night, she decided to visit Fíli in his rooms, where he was still recovering from his broken leg. The poor dwarf could barely ever make it out of his bed and whenever he could, he heavily relied on his crutches.

She knocked on the door and waited for a response. As soon as she heard the softy and groggy “come in”, she opened the heavy wooden door to see the prince laying in bed.

She took a moment to appreciate him, before she had to hurt herself. She would have to break the illusion that he could love her back, but she was allowed to take it all in before she came crashing down. He was wearing a nightshirt, and his covers were light silks topped with furs. His hair lay soft atop his head, probably because he’d bathed earlier that evening. His golden mane shone in the light of the fireplace and his features were relaxed from being so comfortable.

He truly was beautiful, and she could never have him.

At the sight of her at his door, the prince sat up, even going so far as to grab his crutches in an effort to get up and greet her. She rushed to his side to stop him.

“No, my prince, you mustn’t get up. Your leg is still healing,” she said gently.

He held her gaze and nodded, seeming to remember why he needed crutches in the first place. “Good evening, Serïna,” he began, “to what do I owe the pleasure of your lovely company tonight?” His eyes were… sincere and loving, which made it all the harder for the halfbreed to bring up the intended subject.

“Oh, well… it is simply that… I worry for you, your highness,” she said, lowering her eyes to the covers.

“Serïna,” he said, grabbing her chin to lift it ever so gently, “Why must you call me by such formalities? Did I not tell you to call me Fíli?”

“You did, but you said it was because you were not a prince until Erebor was your people’s again,” she said hesitantly, “I figured that with Erebor restored, I should go back to formalities.”

“No, Lovely, you must call me Fíli!” He spoke quickly, “I cannot bear the illusion of such… emotional distance from you, even if it only ever was through the use of language.”

She had to hold in a whimper as he said that. She would not cry in front of the prince and make a fool of herself. His beautiful words were but a result of the spell and he did not mean them.

“Listen, Fíli, I know the meaning of that bead you gave me,” she stated simply, “I know what the giving of such a thing means in your culture because Ori told me…”

The prince flushed at that, his fingers began to toy with the blankets. “Oh, good… then do you accept my offer?” He looked up from his fingers to meet her gaze, his was as expectant as ever.

“That is what I’m head to talk to you about,” she began, this time maintaining eye contact, “I’ve reason to worry for you on this matter. You see, I believe those… feelings of yours might actually be my fault-“

The roaring laugh of the prince interrupted her, “Oh but of course they are, who else may have caused me to have feelings for you?”

She shut her eyes and furrowed her brows in frustration. This was much harder than she’d anticipated. “ No, Fíli! I have reason to believe what you feel for me is not real!”

Now it was Fíli’s turn to furrow his brows. “Whatever do you mean by that?”

“I mean that I have reason to believe that perhaps… you may feel this way about me because of my siren song…”

“What?!” He snapped.

“Listen, I know I said that a siren call doesn’t make one fall in love with me but, the more I think about it, the more I realize that I do not know if that is even true! I’ve never seen the people that I’ve used it on beyond the moment I’ve used it, and that means that I don’t know the long term effects-“

“Now hold on a minute”, he tried to interrupt her, but she continued.

“And obviously, I feel terrible that I’ve done this to you! I never could’ve anticipated that! But you were so nice to me and I could not bring to realize it sooner. Oh, you deserve so much more than me and if I had not realized my mistake I could’ve caused you a life of misfortune stuck with m-“

“Now hold on a minute there!” He yelled it this time. It certainly worked now because she’d stopped talking.

Now here it was coming

The rage that she expected. Oh, he had every right to be furious with her. She’d put him in that situation after all. She closed her eyes once again, waiting for the first blow of anger to happen.

But it did not come.

“Do you truly believe that I was bewitched into loving you, Serïna?” His words were soft and calm, which threw her off enough to prevent her from speaking. All she could do was nod.

“Lovely Serïna, no… I fell for you long before that incident at the fire…” he started, “You are the most wonderful person I have ever met, how could I not love you? From the moment you stumbled into our group, I could not help but be drawn to you! You remind me of the glistening moon of the summers, so kind, so calm and quiet, yet so cold. All it made me want to do was keep you warm and safe. You have no idea the effect you have had on me, from the moment I met you…”

Now she was just confused. “ But, I am nowhere near as beautiful as any dwarrowdam, I-“

“You are the beautiful person I have ever seen, do not ever think otherwise. You are perfect, mesmerizing! You have made me feel so loved and cared for on this trip. I have finally met someone whom I enjoy talking to, who complements me in every way I could ever dream of, and that someone is you! I truly do love you, Serïna!” He said excitedly.

She did not notice the tears rolling down her cheeks until he came to wipe them with his thumbs. With the revelation that her worst nightmare had only ever been a nightmare, and that her dream had come true, she launched herself into his embrace. They held each other so tightly as if a mysterious force would pry them apart if they did not hold on to each other in that very moment.

When they finally did tear away from one another, they looked into each other’s soul, their faces so close to one another, Fíli was the first to give in to temptation and crashed his lips against hers. They moved in a harmonious mess as their passion exploded between them. That kiss held everything Serina had ever wanted and everything she would have. 

Once broken, they only had left to bask in the light of each other’s gaze. She left a tiny kiss on his nose, her arms still entangled around his neck. 

“I love you, Fíli Durin.”

At that, the prince let out a soft chuckled that let her know that everything was going to be alright

**Author's Note:**

> Well, here is their happy ending!  
> As much as I promised myself this would be a one-shot, I cannot resist the idea of writing more on this subject so I plan to write a second chapter that can act as an optional sequel. It will basically be just fluff and smut.


End file.
